


The Blue Moon Festival

by Tippens101



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 04:34:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20325169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tippens101/pseuds/Tippens101
Summary: Jack hates the Blue Moon Festival.





	The Blue Moon Festival

The full moon peeked out shyly through the gray curtains of the wispy clouds. It shone brightly against the deep black of the night sky, dots of glittering stars surrounded it on all sides and constellations came out to play.

The town of Tadpole was atwitter with the sounds of croaking frogs and crickets singing their songs. A dog scratched at a tree and a cat hissed in annoyance as its prey escaped him.

In a small house made of oak, Jack Lafitte was helping his uncle wash dishes. His mother was in their shared bedroom, resting from a fever.

Jack looked at his uncle from the corner of his eye, and he noticed the man's mouth quirked up in a smile. He swallowed, attempting to push down the question that had been bubbling inside him since he noticed the white distraction floating above him.

"Uncle Castiel," he started before he could stop himself. "Why do we do the Blue Moon Festival?" The words hung in the air and Jack really wanted to snatch them back and swallow them.

Castiel sighed and dropped the plate back in the wash basin. "Why are you asking?"

The boy, just brushing fifteen, bit his bottom lip. "It's just... it's coming up soon and I was just... it seems kind of..." He couldn't think of the right word to finish the sentence. Barbaric? Cruel? Animalistic? He finally settled on "Unfair."

"I know, but it is tradition. It's been happening in Tadpole for so long it has become an integral part of Indigo Forest culture." He looked out the window at the stars twinkling in the sky. "People come from all around. Not just the forest, the islands nearby, too. It's good for trading and farming and everything that helps keep this town alive." He looked back at his nephew, and the smile on his face did not reach his eyes. "The... activity at the end of the night is the worst part, yes, but everything else it brings is a blessing." He ruffled Jack's hair, leaving it slightly damp from his touch.

The boy up looked up at his uncle and nodded. He had learned about the Blue Moon Festival in school, knew about all the important stuff it brought to Tadpole, but he still felt a knife stab his stomach when he thought about how the festival ended.

Him and his uncle finished the dishes and his uncle went back to his own home. Jack headed into his bedroom and rubbed the yellow cream from the medicine chest against his mother's sweaty forehead while she slept. He watched the rise and fall of her stomach for a few minutes and then crawled into his bed at the other side of the room. He stared at the bottom of the bed above him, the darkness making his eyes see strange patterns in the wood, until he fell asleep.

\-----

"You're dead!"

Jack felt the wooden sword tap his back and he stomped his foot. It was the third time Kaia had killed him.

He slumped onto the grass and rested his head between his knees. The sun burned into his neck, but he didn't care. He had slipped his cloak off earlier, his constant movement had made him heat up, making the item unnecessary.

It was windy enough for an extra layer of cloth to be needed, but not hot enough to go swimming, something Jack loved to do. The weather was too ripe to stay inside reading, and luckily Jack and his friends' classes were cancelled for the day because Mrs. Moseley was sick with a fever.

He felt a shadow cover his body. He knew it was Kaia; their other friends were still chasing each other near the Willows. 

"Copper firefly for your thoughts?" she asked. "You're not upset with me, right?"

Jack lifted his head and smiled sadly. He shook his head. "I'm just... the Blue Moon Festival is tomorrow night. I'm dreading it." He could hear the faint hammering of the stalls being built.

She nodded and sat next to him. "I hate it, too. I still dream about the last one from seven seasons ago."

"I wish I could do something about it. I don't know what."

"Hmm... Can Castiel do anything? He is the town astronomer. He's the one who tells the council when the blue moon happens."

"I doubt it. He think it's really important."

She shrugged. "Maybe you can do something to the ropes."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Then when I get caught I'll find myself at the business end of those things."

"Jus' sayin' it's worth a shot."

Jack hummed. He was thinking. 

\-----

The drizzle falling onto Jack's head was ignored as he stood on the dock. The occasional boat would pass into view and his breath would stick to the back of his throat as he strained his eyes to see through the light mist. When the boat turned out not to be his father's, he would groan and grind his teeth. 

The moment he spotted his father and sister slicing through the water, he jumped high in the air, cloak flapping behind him. He watched as his sister, Maggie, tied a thin rope to an empty hook in the dock, joining the other waiting sea vessels.

Benny Lafitte hopped out of the boat and grabbed Jack, swinging him around in a wide circle. 

"You've grown a whole inch, my boy!" He put his son back on his feet and stared at him seriously. "Momma okay?" He smiled at the young boy's enthusiastic nod. "Excellent. Mags, you got it?"

Maggie smiled at her brother and handed her father a simple wooden box. "Kept it safe."

Benny smiled and handed the box to Jack. "A present. For your birthday next month. No way could I wait."

Jack excitedly opened the lid. A dagger stared back at him, hilt carved with a grinning dragon.

"Be careful with it my boy. It's not a toy. Very sharp. "

His son nodded. "Of course. Does this mean I can come with you on your next fishing trip?"

His father laughed. "We'll see."

\-----

The setting sun had everyone out for the beginnings of the festival. It started, like always, with the head of the council, Naomi, reading from The History of Indigo Forest, specifically the passge about the lunar cycle. Then there was a moment of silence, a sign of respect for the people of the previous festivals, which Jack thought was ridiculous. They didn't care about these people before, when it actually happened, why would they care now?

He walked around, the blades of grass warm between his toes, maneouvering through the crowds and glancing at the stalls with paraphernalia on sale; Wood carvings, medicines, candied apples. A few had games available. They were all almost impossible to win, but that didn't stop anyone from spending their coins. He could see, from the glowing dim light of the blue lantern hung on a wooden pole, children bouncing on their feet and hunched over parents. He grinned; he had seen his mother and father earlier, enjoying time by themselves. They must be happy that him and Maggie had grown out of their greedy phases. 

After awhile he got bored and decided to head over to Castiel's tent; the astronomer had a telescope set up for anyone who wanted to look through it and "peer at the miraculous wonders of our vast universe", as he put it. He also sold charts of the patterns the stars made to form constellations. Jack always gave him a golden butterfly every festival. 

When he got to the tent, he noticed that Castiel was not at the telescope. Instead, his apprentice Celeste was showing Rufus Turner how to aim it at the correct point in the sky. That was strange, because Jack knew that his uncle had an issue with the young woman using any of his equipment at the moment; she was too new, he had said.

Concerned and curious, the young boy walked around the back of the tent, where he found Castiel and his husband Dean. Jack's hand went to the leather sheath around his waist. Dean had made it and given it to him for free to hold his dagger. The two men were whispering and he walked closer.

"Don't let them do this, Cas," Dean murmered, and Jack could desperation in his voice. They were bathed in star light and holding hands. "I need you."

"It has already been done," Castiel replied stiffly. He sniffed. Had he been crying? "I made my choice and I will pay for it."

Dean sobbed loudly, and just as Jack took a step forward, there was the piercing sound of a bugle being blown. It was time for the last event of the night.

\-----

Jack had been jostled by the sea of people scrambling towards the town square. It was a race to get to the front for a good view. A fire was burning brightly in front of the gallows, orange embers floating upwards into the air, disappearing in front of him. 

Jack slid his way through gaps in the crowd until he found his mother. Maggie was nearby with a few of her friends.

The boy looked around and spotted Dean, the fire making the shadows dance on his face. His father was holding tight to him, gently stroking his hair. Jack took a step towards their direction, but was pushed back into his mother, and locked into that position when she snaked her arm around his middle and held tight.

When the voices of the festival goers died down, the head of the council cleared her throat.

"Bring up the first priosner," she called out to her head guard. She held a piece of paper between her hands.

A woman was brought up the steps, hands tied behind her back. She looked out at the crowd. Jack could see the slight shake of her legs.

"Bela Talbot," the head of the council said, "you are charged with fraud, theft, two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and one count of suspected murder. Do you have anything to say?"

The prisoner shrugged. "You guys have no sense of humor." She sounded like she was from Rabbit's Foot Island.

Naomi held her hand up and the head gaurd brought Bela to the noose and slipped the woman's head through. He stepped back and pulled a lever, releasing the trap door below her. Her lifeless body stayed suspended in the air, swinging slightly.

The body and the noose were taken down and the guards quickly set up for the next prisoner, and on it went. The noose was always changed to a new one, knotted for the height and weight of the damned person.

After the sixth person was executed, Jack felt somewhat relieved. Like a large boulder was lifted from his back. It was over, at least for another two years until the next Blue Moon Festival.

When Naomi called for the next prisoner, Jack furrowed his brow; there were only six people scheduled to be killed.

"Castiel Kline," she growled out, and Jack's mother released him and screamed. His father had to hold her back while she attempted to rush to the gallows. He heard a loud sob and realized it was Dean.

"You are charged with treason, obstruction of justice, three counts of assault on council members. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Jack heard Castiel speak as he flowed between the crowd, heading for the gallows. His voice was clear, not a hint of fear in it.

"I do not regret what I did, but I will suffer the consequences quietly and respectfully. This practice is primal. Everyone deserves a life."

Jack pushed the head guard as hard as he could and the man stumbled and fell. He ran and snatched the rope. He grabbed the looped part and pulled it, using his dagger to quickly cut above the first knot.

"Jack," Cas muttered, eyes wide as he stared at his nephew.

The boy gritted his teeth, his rage rising up from the pits of his stomach and jumping out of his mouth. "Fuck all of you," he shouted into the air. "Fuck all of you and fuck your disturbing traditions."

The silence swirled around him. The crackling of the fire and the sounds of the night time creatures echoing in the woods filled his ears.

The light of the full moon shone down onto Jack.


End file.
